Cabernet Sauvignon | Xanadu Wines | Margaret River Winery, Wine Tasting & Restaurant

Vintage

2013

Brand

Xanadu Stevens Road

Title

Cabernet Sauvignon

Description

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97 Points | James Halliday Wine Companion 2017 "Xanadu has carved out a cabernet style all its own"
96 points | Ray Jordan West Australian Wine Guide 2017
95 points - Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front 2016
Distinct blackcurrants and satsuma plums with hints of redcurrant, graphite and bay leaf the background.

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Viticulture

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon (100%)
Vintage: 2013
Region: Margaret River, Australia
Growing Conditions: A relatively wet and windy spring affected flowering and fruit set, with the resulting yields slightly lower than normal. The growing season which followed was warm and dry with sometimes hot conditions around Christmas. Abundant Marri blossom kept bird pressure low early on, although vineyard teams were kept on their toes deterring birds late in the season. The warmer weather in the lead up to harvest saw flavour ripening accelerate with fruit retaining natural acidity and wonderful fresh aromatics. The whites picked at a frenetic pace however the weather cooled significantly during March which resulted in a hiatus in harvesting. The cooler conditions allowed time for the reds to achieve physiological maturity, culminating in great flavour and tannin ripeness when warmer weather returned in April. In summary, 2013 was another great Margaret River vintage. All of the fruit for this Cabernet Sauvignon is from Block 3 of our Stevens Road Vineyard, which is situated on the Boodjidup Brook about 3km from the winery. Fruit from this mature, low yielding vineyard consistently produces some of our best Cabernet each vintage, which we bottle as a single vineyard wine. Limited to only 200 dozen, the 2013 Stevens Road Cabernet Sauvignon recognises the outstanding quality that this individual vineyard has the ability to produce, and highlights the unique personality of this special site.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep red with green hues
Nose: Distinct blackcurrants and satsuma plums with hints of redcurrant, graphite and bay leaf the background.
Palate: The generous yet elegant palate offers wonderful dark forest fruits and blackcurrants. Beautifully structured with a distinct purity, the fruit characters combine with ripe tannins and a savoury undercurrent to culminate in a lingering Cabernet finish. While certainly approachable in its youth, this is a wine which will benefit from further bottle maturation, and will cellar comfortably for 5-10 years.

Winemaking

Alcohol: 14%
Bottle size: 750 mL
pH: 3.63
Winemaking Notes: This 2.3 tonne parcel of fruit was crushed/destemmed fermentation in several small open fermenters for 7 days @ 24 – 28o C, during which the cap was managed by regular plunging by hand. The wine was gently pressed @ 2 Baume and finished ferment in tank. Once dry, the wine was racked to French barriques (40% new) where it completed MLF. The wine was matured in oak for 16 months before the blend was assembled, prior to bottling.

Professional Reviews

Rating Value: 95
Rating Scale: points
Rating Value Maximum: 100
Rating Value Minimum: 0
Reviewer: Campbell Mattinson
Publication: Wine Front
Review: The higher you go up the tree at Xanadu the more elegant the wines become. It’s a good thing; a very good thing. But if you’re looking for super-premium blockbusters then Xanadu isn’t the place to look. This is elegance personified. Or elegance in a bottle. It’s mid-weight and fluid with currant and cocoa notes floating through bay leaf and sweet tobacco. It’s so juicy and light-footed it feels refreshing. Tannin comes melted into the fruit; fruit, oak, acid and tannin almost seem like one and the same thing, so well are they integrated. It’s a classy wine; a highly polished, pristine version of a Claret.

Rating Value: 97
Rating Scale: points
Rating Value Maximum: 100
Rating Value Minimum: 0
Reviewer: James Halliday
Publication: Halliday Wine Companion 2017
Review: Bright crimson; this has the Stevens Road DNA at its most expressive and triumphant; Xanadu has carved out a cabernet style all its own, as if the Great Southern has crept in under the bedclothes one night. It is awesome in its focus and precision, which allow it to tread lightly, seemingly impossible for a young cabernet of supreme class.

Rating Value: 96
Rating Scale: points
Rating Value Maximum: 100
Rating Value Minimum: 0
Reviewer: Ray Jordan
Publication: West Australian Wine Guide 2017
Review: A small production single vineyard wine that reflects both this southern Margaret River region and the vineyard characteristics. Aromas of subtle cool mint and dark chocolate and blackcurrant richness with a thread of cedary and slightly savoury oak. An elegantly structured and most refined cabernet with plenty of palate power. There is deep generosity in here that offers so much on the palate.

Rating Value: 91
Rating Scale: points
Rating Value Maximum: 100
Rating Value Minimum: 0
Reviewer: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Publication: Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
Review: Deep garnet-purple color, the 2013 Stevens Road Cabernet Sauvignon reveals intense notes of ripe black currant, blackberry and mulberry with earth, bay leaf, pencil shavings and tobacco nuances plus a hint of spice box. Rich, and concentrated in the medium-bodied mouth, it has a firm backbone and a long, layered finish. Great length and layers. Still very young, it really needs another couple of years in bottle to show its stuff.

Rating Value: 96
Rating Scale: points
Rating Value Maximum: 100
Rating Value Minimum: 0
Reviewer: Tyson Stelzer
Publication: Wine Business Magazine
Review: A cabernet of effortless and unadulterated fruit purity and poise, framed in gentle and integrated tannins, well poised acidity and nicely judged oak. Beautiful purity and definition of black and redcurrant fruit is nuanced with hints of leaf, framed in elegant structure of finely poised tannins. It finishes with outstanding line and length.

Rating Value: 93
Rating Scale: points
Rating Value Maximum: 100
Rating Value Minimum: 0
Reviewer: Josh Raynolds
Publication: Vinous
Review: Bright violet. Powerful, mineral-tinged red and blue fruits, incense, vanilla and a hint of cigar box on the highly fragrant nose. Juicy and focused in the mouth, offering intense cherry-vanilla and boysenberry flavors that deepen and become sweeter with air. Shows impressive depth as well as vivacity, with no rough edges. The vanilla and floral notes come back strong on a strikingly persistent, seamless fnish that features smooth, well-knit tannins and a lingering suggestion of smoky minerals.

Customer Reviews

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Vintage: 2013
Brand: Xanadu Stevens Road
Title: Cabernet Sauvignon